Strawberries and Cream

So much for establishing sight lines.

The waiter chose that precise moment to arrive with my lunch order. He placed the plate in front of me and asked the nurse if she were joining me.  Before I could find my voice, she said yes and sat down opposite to me. The waiter laid out an extra set of utensils, handed her a menu, then poured her a glass of water and left us.

Still unsure if I had sufficiently coralled the jumbled thoughts in my head, I opened my mouth, fervently hoping my vocal chords still functioned.

“Ah, forgive me,” I began. “But, what are you doing here and what exactly do you want with me?”

Her face had remained impassive as I spoke. She dipped her head slightly, glancing down at the table briefly before looking up at me again. 

“I should be the one asking for your forgiveness Wayne,” she replied. “I can certainly understand why you feel the way you do.”

“Really?”, I said with some indignation. “How can you possibly understand how, much less why, I am feeling the way I am?”

She gazed back at me for a few heartbeats before replying. For the first time I noticed her eyes were hazel with flecks of green in them.

“We were not released to offer more information until today. The most I can do right now is introduce myself. My name is Sonja Lovarin.

We? I shook my head - moreso to prevent being captivated by her eyes. She sighed and must have mistook my negative head shake as disapproval, which was probably just as well - and somewhat true.

“Look, I am going to tell you everything, as soon as Jeff gets here. He should be arriving in about 10 minutes.” She glnaced out the window and she continued. “I know you have a lot of questions, but it will be best to have you and Jeff together to hear what I have to say.”

I looked outside, following her gaze and saw the ferry from the airport was halfway across the channel heading this way. The waiter appeared once again. Sonja quickly looked at the menu and chose a dessert.

“I will just have the small bowl of strawberries and cream, please,” she said handing the menu to the waiter.

I looked down at my plate of food not feeling hungry anymore and pushed the plate away. Trying my best to ignore the sudden awkward silence, I looked out the window again in time to see the ferry about to dock at the terminal. I turned my attention back inside to ask how she knew Jeff, but she was already speaking.

“I really do want to thank you Wayne for getting me here safely. I am also genuinely sorry for the way I treated you on our flight into Stewart. At the time I was not sure if you were trustworthy. When you and Jeff hear what I have to say, I believe you will understand more clearly what is going on.”

I was not sure how to respond to her apology, especially given the slight flush I experienced whenever she spoke my name. And what was this issue of being trustworthy?  I was saved when the waiter arrived at that moment with her dessert, again vainly trying to arrest my errant thoughts. Feeling foolish as she began to eat, I pulled my plate back and picked at the contents. A couple minutes later, I noticed Jeff waking through the entrance to the dining room. He was carrying an old-school flight bag in one hand with his jacket draped over the other. I waved him over and braced myself for what was to come.

As he drew closer to the table he realized I was not alone. With a slightly puzzled look, he nodded a greeting to Sonja and looked to me as if I owed him an explanation. I glanced at her with a puzzled frown of my own.

“Jeff, my name is Sonja Lovarin. I am the one who hired your services and arranged this meeting.”

“Say what?”, I blurted out. “I knew nothing about a meeting with you.” I looked at Jeff who was now moving to sit a the table and looking suspiciously less puzzled.

“Did you not read what was in the envelope?”, she asked looking at me.

I looked at the envelope on the table, still resting where I had laid it earlier. I had actually forgotten about it. Jeff on the other hand, opened his flight bag and pulled out what looked to be a duplicate envelope of mine. Unlike mine, his was already opened. I was getting even more annoyed.

“Honestly Wayne, I thought you would have opened the envelope by now”, Jeff replied. “The contents cover most of what you likely have questions about. I will say this; after you have read it, you will have a decision to make.”

My frustration now morphed into nervousness. As I slowly reached for the unopened envelope, Jeff signalled the waiter over.

“I will have what she is having, please.”

The waiter nodded and left to fill the order. I glared at Jeff.

“What? I like strawberries, Ok!”

Out of the corner of my eye I noticed Sonja trying not to smile.  For the love of…